KIEV, May 17 - The Ukrainian gas transportation system (GTS) remains the most reliable and cheapest gas transit route to Europe, despite the construction of the Nord Stream and South Stream gas pipelines, said Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.

"Neither Nord nor South Streams offer any alternative to our GTS. We still have 150 billion (cubic meters of gas per year) of throughput capacity, this is the most reliable and cheapest transit route to Europe, and we are ready to ensure its reliable operation," Azarov said at a meeting with members of the EU-Ukraine international club of parliamentarians and experts in Kiev on Thursday.